


ashes to ashes (dust to dust)

by moonfleur



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Ambiguous Relationships, Bikers, Blood, Blood and Violence, Gangs, Kinda, M/M, Violence, but I don't think it's that bad, but not really, we don't use labels in this house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:22:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonfleur/pseuds/moonfleur
Summary: There was nothing more deadly than a person surviving on sheer desperation and self-preservation, especially when the sun started to rise and it was either kill or be burnt alive.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Mark Lee
Comments: 27
Kudos: 62
Collections: nono birthday bash





	ashes to ashes (dust to dust)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [incendiarism](https://archiveofourown.org/users/incendiarism/gifts).



> **Happy Jeno Day!**
> 
> But also, to Ash, I hope you like this fic! I'm not gonna lie was really worried about writing for you just because you're Ash but, here! I hope you accept this measly offering of ambiguous markno, ot7 dream, slight unhingedness, some _minor_ violence, and the end of the world. Oh and, of course, just burning in general. I tried my best!
> 
> PS. Do you like the title? I am quite proud of it :>

☣︎☢︎☣︎

_Some say the world will end in fire,  
_ _Some say in ice._  
_From what I’ve tasted of desire  
_ _I hold with those who favour fire.  
_ _\- Robert Frost_

☣︎☢︎☣︎

The sky burned, always a dark rust-coloured red these days. Even the clouds were red, whenever there were clouds, mostly it was just ash. Plumes of it blown across the great expanse that used to be the sky, now nothing more than a giant backdrop to their own personal hell. 

Jeno could feel the heat, radiating from both the ground and the sky, even from where he stood, ten stories above the ground by a metal frame that must have once held glass if the fragments on the ground were anything to go by. It was a rough blanket against his face, already so burnt by the sun and wind that it no longer felt uncomfortable. The cut on his lips stung a little and he winced when he brought a finger up against it, uncaring of the dirt that seemed to coat his hands permanently these days. 

“You shouldn’t be touching that,” a voice spoke from beside him, soft but with an edge so hard it would have made anyone else halt their actions. Not Jeno, though, not when he’d become so accustomed to the voice, to its tone, that its rough tenor no longer frightened him. Now, laced with concern so audible, it made his heart race in a different way. 

He turned towards the voice, lips twitching as he purposefully lowered his arm to cross it against his chest. He came face to face with dark eyes and dark hair, face streaked with dirt in a way that he was sure matched his own. An arid draft swept past them, tousling his hair in a way that made Jeno want to run his hands through it. But it had been days since they’d last stumbled upon running water and Jeno really didn’t want to risk it. 

“I can’t help it, Mark.” He grumbled, brows creasing into a frown. “It smarts, and it’s itchy as fuck. It’s probably already infected anyway.”

“Stop that.” And this time Jeno really did flinch from the sharp edge in Mark’s words, his eyes dark and hard as they bore into Jeno’s. It wasn’t unfounded though, infections killed people more often than the heat did nowadays, what with supplies becoming increasingly difficult to find. But, of course, the number one cause of death now was other people. There was nothing more deadly than a person surviving on sheer desperation and self-preservation, especially when the sun started to rise and it was either kill or be burnt alive. 

Jeno knew that feeling all too well — it was the reason he’d busted his lip after all. He and Jaemin had dumped the bodies in the street as Mark had ushered the rest of the boys and their bikes into the now-abandoned building just as the sky started to glow, scarlet tingeing the blackness of the night sky. 

“Sorry,” he whispered eventually, voice hoarse from the dry air and the ash he’d been breathing in during the silence. Outside it is a firestorm, dust and ash whipping through the empty streets of what should have been downtown Los Angeles. “I shouldn’t have even-”

“It’s fine.” Mark let out a sigh as he placed a heavy hand on Jeno’s shoulder. “I just- I can’t afford to lose any more people, Jeno.”

“It’s the end of the world, Mark. We’re all gonna die someday, and more likely sooner than later,” Jeno replied, shooting Mark a wry smile. 

“Not if we find it.”

Jeno couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his lips at Mark’s words, mostly filled with exasperation but there was fondness in there too, Jeno knew. He wondered if Mark knew that too. Carefully, he placed a hand on top of Mark’s, fingers interlacing naturally as he brought their hands back down to hang between them. When Mark didn’t pull away, he allowed himself to turn back to the window.

“Do you really believe it exists? This... utopia. Or whatever it’s called.”

“The Garden.” Right, _The Garden._ Jeno could still hear the words as it rang in his ears the night that Mark’s phone had died, just before he’d received one final message. There had been no text, just an image of a manhole with trees and flowers growing from it and the words _The Garden_ printed above it. It had been Renjun who had noticed the five numbers on the manhole cover and Chenle who had figured out that they were a postal code. 

But it was Jaemin, whose eidetic memory provided them with the state they needed to go to. That was how they’d ended up here, in an abandoned city in Southern California, in search of some sign that they were at least going in the right direction. Unfortunately, the only things they’d found were people who wanted to kill them and Jisung, a kid around their age who was about to be torn to shreds by a group of hunger-crazed survivors. Or it had looked like it anyway, until Jisung had taken out two daggers the size of his forearms and put them through the thugs’ throats. Jaemin and Donghyuck had adopted him then and there. 

That had been just over a week from now and Jisung had slotted himself into the spaces between them until there was nothing left now, just the seven of them, as one, against the rest of the world. 

“So do you think we’re gonna find it?” Jeno kept his gaze fixed outside, on the red sky, the abandoned buildings and dust-trodden streets. The sun was an angry orange ball in the sky whose flames threatened to swallow them all. If there was a garden, it definitely wouldn’t have survived this. 

“Yes.” Mark’s answer was so resolute, so unwavering that it took Jeno by surprise and he turned to look at Mark wide-eyed. “I can’t explain it, it’s just… a feeling.” Fingers tightened around his own. “And I'd really like us all to be there when we do find it, you know?”

Jeno squeezed back. “As long as you believe, we’ll follow you. To the ends of the Earth. You know that.” 

Mark huffed out a laugh. “To the ends of the Earth. I remember when that became our thing, way before everything started to go to shit. And now look where we are, at the end of the world.” Mark looked at him then, black eyes so deep, so imploring, so close to him he could count the specks of dust that dotted his unfairly long eyelashes. Jeno knew that look, it was a look that told Jeno everything, the words he couldn’t say etched into his irises, transferred by sight into a heart so fluent in Mark that it didn’t even take a heartbeat for Jeno to _know_. 

“Mark, I-,” his words were interrupted by a slight cough and they both turned towards the noise. They’re met with a mop of unruly half black half pink hair, grin peeking through the strands that covered his face. 

“Sorry to interrupt what looked like a really serious conversation.” Jeno snorted, Jaemin wasn’t the least bit sorry and they all knew it. “But, the food’s been done for a while and I’m worried the kids might pass out hungry if we don’t feed them soon.”

Jeno frowned, feeling guilty for making them wait. “Sorry, Jaem. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Jaemin laughed at that, too bright and too light for a time like the one they were currently living in. “To what? None of us have working timepieces anymore, unless you count the ugly-looking Rolex Chenle never takes off. Don’t worry about it, I just want to make sure we have enough rest for tonight.”

Now, it was Mark’s turn to frown. “What’s happening tonight?”

Jaemin threw a quick glance over his shoulder to where the rest of the group was sitting, huddled around the paint can they were using to hold their fire. “We have to do another raid. We’re just about out of food. I think we have enough water to last us a couple more days but I just used up the last of the canned soup we took during the last raid.” Jaemin lowered his voice. “On our way in, we passed by an almost fully stocked convenience store but I’m almost certain there were people living above it.”

Mark pursed his lips slightly and gave Jaemin’s shoulder a squeeze. “We do what we gotta do to keep each alive alright? And you know that Chenle and Jisung will probably rip your head off if you tried to keep them out of another raid.”

“I know… I just-”

“You want to keep them safe, we get it. But they’re not kids anymore, Jaemin, none of us are. You saw what Jisung was capable of when we first met him, those assholes didn’t stand a chance. And if you’re right, and it comes down to another fight, we will need them.”

Jaemin sighed, straightening his shoulders as he drew himself up to his full height. “You’re right. I just worry.”

Jeno chuckled, throwing an arm around Jaemin’s neck. “You’re a good person, Jaemin. Probably the only good one out of all of us.” Beside him, Jeno heard Mark breathe out a laugh. “Now let’s go eat so we can put the kids to bed, hm?”

☣︎☢︎☣︎

It was almost dark when Jeno woke, the parts of the sky visible from where he was lying down had already faded from the bright rust to a dark wine colour. With the darkness came the cold and Jeno huddled deeper into his sleeping bag, pulling its edges as close to him as possible. He was just about to drift off again when he felt fingers card through his hair.

“Nooo,” he groaned trying to hide away from the deceptively soothing touch. “Go away. Let me sleep.”

Mark let out a laugh, voice still hoarse from sleep, the sound so familiar to Jeno he felt warmth blossom in his chest. “C‘ mon Jeno. You need to wake up. Especially if we want to catch that group by surprise.”

The reality of their situation hit Jeno like a truck and he bolted upright, the top of his sleeping bag pooling around his waist. “The raid,” he breathed. 

“Yeah,” Mark nodded, lips flattening into an almost-grimace. “We have to leave soon if we want to try and get them in their sleep. Can you put some water to boil? I’ll wake up the rest of the boys.”

Jeno hummed an affirmation, already pushing his way out of his sleeping bag. He grabbed the half-full bottle from where they’d left it the night before and poured its contents into the makeshift pot, still sitting warm on top of the fire. Settling himself by the little tin can of warmth, he watched as Mark fell into the heap that was Renjun, Jaemin and Donghyuck, their groans of protest against Mark’s intrusion echoing in the emptiness of the room. Jeno couldn’t help but marvel at the way Mark knew them all so well, how he’d known to wake Jeno up gently but that he’d need to roughhouse with the three of them because they would never move otherwise. How he was now moving onto Chenle and Jisung — who had spent every night since his addition huddled with Chenle — quiet and careful, choosing to shake Jisung awake so that he could be the one to wake Chenle up instead. 

Jeno was startled out of his thoughts by a small foil packet being dropped into his lap. He looked up to find Mark grinning at him. “What are you thinking about?”

 _You._ “Nothing. Just spacing out.” Mark hummed in response, falling into silence as he lowered himself to the ground beside Jeno. Jeno knew Mark didn’t believe him but that was the good thing about Mark, he never pushed, always trusted that Jeno would tell him eventually. 

“Drink that,” Mark nodded to the packet in his lap, which Jeno recognised to be some kind of instant coffee. “We’re gonna need it. It is also the last one that we have.” Mark sighed, running his dirt-stained fingers through stiff hair. “We really do need this raid.”

He placed a hand on Mark’s knee, so much skinnier than he’d been even a month ago. “We got this, alright? Nothing we haven’t done before anyway.” He paused before holding up the packet between them, smile curving on his lips. “Share?”

By the time the rest of the boys settled around the fire, the water had boiled and the sun had truly set, leaving the sky an inky black, completely devoid of stars due to the constant ash cover. Mark had passed the rest of the coffee to them and given them time to warm up — and wake up — before finally addressing what was supposed to be some kind of plan. Mark took a sip from the metal cup Jeno had passed to him before speaking, his tone grave, weariness coating every syllable.

“I’m sure you’re all aware, but this might be the biggest raid we’ve ever done. This means the biggest fight. Probably.” He exhaled raggedly, fingers shoving into his hair. “If I could avoid this, I would. But we haven’t seen a stocked convenience store in _days_ and this might be our last chance to stock up for a while.”

“It’s okay, Mark,” Renjun cut in, a small smile on his face. “We get it. We know what we have to do. That’s life now, right?”

“Yeah,” Mark breathed, his gaze heavy as he took in the group before him. 

“Just tell us where you need us to be.” It was Donghyuck who spoke up this time, head raising to meet Mark’s gaze from where it had been lying on Renjun’s shoulder. He grinned then, sharp as the blades he liked to wield. “I’ve just sharpened my knives anyway.”

Mark groaned, head falling into his hands despite the smile that tugged at his lips. “You’re insufferable.”

Donghyuck just grinned even wider. “But you love me anyway.”

Mark was just about to respond, Jeno could see it perched on his lips as he turned to shoot Donghyuck a glare when Jisung spoke, his small low voice cutting through their conversation. “My knives are always sharp.” And that was it, the thing that had them all falling apart in laughter, Mark falling into his side as he laughed. Chenle had Jisung in a loose chokehold as he cackled loudly in his ears, which were tinged with red.

“I’m so glad we found you,” Jaemin croaked out in between bouts of laughter and Jisung flushed even harder. This, Jeno realised, as he watched his friends laugh around him. This was the reason he woke up every night, for them, the only family he has left in a world that’s taken everything away from him. From them. Even if they never found The Garden, even if this fight was their last, he was glad that he’d at least had them. Mark turned to look at him and he knew Mark thought the same, that they all did. 

“Okay, okay,” Mark called out finally when everyone had started to settle down. “Sharp knives or not, I want you all to be careful okay? We want to sneak up on them as much as possible, which I know will be hard considering the bikes but if we’re lucky, we could still catch them unawares. Jun, Duckie, Chenle, you three are on point as usual.” There was a small _yes_ from Chenle, which made Jeno’s lip twitch. 

“Jisung and Jaem, I want you with me and Jeno.” They nodded, tight-lipped when Mark looked at them. “You three,” he turned back to where Renjun, Donghyuck and Chenle were sitting. “If there are too many of them, you come back to us. No fighting them alone. Got that, Lee Donghyuck?”

Donghyuck looked away from Mark sulkily. “Fine.”

“Good. Now let’s go.”

☣︎☢︎☣︎

It was cold as they made their way through the city, the rumble of their engines echoing off the empty buildings they drove past, windows like dark empty eyes that looked down upon them in the night. Then again, it was always cold now, the lack of ozone made sure of that. Made sure that if you weren’t cooked alive in the day that you’d freeze to death at night. It was a horrible way to go, and Jeno had seen it happen so many times, the inhuman screeching of someone who hadn’t managed to find shelter before sunrise, the bodies that littered the streets no matter where you went. It was the end of the world indeed.

Even now, as they sped down the darkened streets — electricity long-since cut off — Jeno could just about make out the lumps that lay scattered at odd intervals, misshapen forms that were poor reflections of the people they used to be. Jeno averted his eyes — it was an inevitability that awaited most in these darkened times. 

It was another ten minutes of being sliced by the night air before they reached their destination — somewhere in Pasadena if memory served him right. The front of the store was dark as was to be expected, and surprisingly still intact, which was somewhat unexpected. Intact shop fronts had become a thing of the past within weeks of the catastrophe that had wiped out most of the planet’s population, what with everything that could be looted being looted. The fact that the store still had a door made Jeno more than a little uncomfortable and he didn’t like it. It didn’t help that there seemed to be a light flickering in one of the second-story windows — someone was definitely awake.

Dismounting from his bike, Jeno caught Mark’s eyes and jerked his head in the direction of the window before pulling his helmet off his head. Mark frowned when he noticed the light and motioned to the others to remain silent as he pointed it out. Renjun and Donghyuck exchanged a look and immediately unsheathed their knives, carrying them loosely in each hand. Chenle and Jisung followed suit but Jaemin frowned, gaze shifting between the window and Mark before pulling out his own knife. 

Jeno strapped his own to his thigh before pulling out a pistol from one of the saddlebags strapped to his bike. He checked the magazine to make sure that he had enough ammo before tucking it into the lip of his pants. He saw Mark do the same, dual knives strapped to his thigh and pistol in his hand. One by one, they all pulled off their jackets too, draping them over the seats of their bikes before turning back to Mark for instructions. Jeno watched as Mark took a deep breath, steeling himself, falling into the headspace he used when he needed to get things _done._ When he reopened his eyes, the Mark that had been there earlier that night, who had laughed with them over Jisung’s adorable antics, was gone. In his place was the Mark that Jeno had been scared of once, all those years ago when he had stepped between Jeno and an asshole and had put the guy on the ground without a word.

Jeno’s heart thudded at the memory but he kept his eyes on Mark, waiting, always waiting. Mark took one more breath before turning towards Renjun, he nodded once and immediately Renjun was stalking towards the shop front, Chenle and Donghyuck in tow, the blades of their knives glinting in the darkness. Mark turned to follow and Jeno fell into step beside him, Jaemin and Jisung behind them. Mark turned to him when Renjun breached the door, pushing it open when he realised it was unlocked.

“Stick with me, alright?”

Jeno pulled the pistol out from the waistband of his pants and cocked it, the safety clicking loudly in the near-silence. He gave Mark a half-smile. “Always.”

They entered the store together, the movement practised from the countless other times they’d done this. Shoulder to shoulder, footsteps completely in time with each other, they walked through the middle aisle half crouched as they watched Renjun lead Donghyuck and Chenle up the stairs in the back. Jeno’s heart was in his mouth and his heartbeat in his ears when they came to a stop at the foot of the stairs, guns trained on the landing. That was when they heard the first scream, strangling halfway following the sound of a dull thud. There were shouts now, and the sounds of footsteps thudding overhead accompanied by the thumps of flesh on flesh. 

It sounded like pretty standard fare at first, nothing the three of them couldn’t handle, and then it came, the first crack of gunfire so loud in such an enclosed space that Jeno’s ears started to ring. Then came Donghyuck’s yell, a resounding “fuck!” as more shots were fired and the three of them came sprinting down, there was blood on their hands and faces but none that looked like theirs, and that’s really all Jeno cared about. 

“There are three of them with guns, two pistols and one dude with a giant shottie that nearly took a chunk out of Duckie,” Renjun whispered frantically as they swept past them. “We managed to take out three before the rest got their hands on the weapons but there’s still at least five of them up there.”

“Fuck!” Mark hissed, looking back up the stairs as more footsteps thundered above them. “We need to separate the gunmen, Jeno, you take the far aisle with Jun, Jaems and Jisung. I’ll take Chenle and Duckie. If you have a clear shot, take it. Now, go! They’re coming.”

Jeno nodded once before diving straight for the furthest aisle, Renjun, Jaemin and Jisung in tow. They pulled around, backs leaning against the shelves with Jeno closest to the end. “Junnie,” he whispered, eyes still trained on the doorway that led to the stairs. “I’m gonna take care of the first gunman, so I’m leaving the rest to you okay?”

“Of course.” There was a grin tinting Renjun’s voice that had Jeno’s own lips curling when he responded. “If he doesn’t have a gun, just dodge him. We’ll handle it.”

Jeno dipped his head briefly before returning his attention to the doorway. He pulled away from the shelf he was leaning on, just slightly, just enough for him to set his sights on the space just past the frame of the doorway. Footsteps sounded on the stairs and he took a breath, eyes unblinking on the spot of air just by the doorway. Sure enough, as he expected, the muzzle of a gun was the first to clear the doorway followed by the dart of a head that was just a split second too slow. Jeno squeezed the trigger and the man crumpled to the floor.

There was a shout from somewhere beyond the wall, some scrambling, murmurs between the group and in between it all the distinct sound of a shotgun being cocked. Jeno had just enough time to drag Renjun down to the ground before the wall in front of him blew open, palettes whizzing above him where his head had just been. 

“Get behind the counter!” He yelled, shoving at Renjun quickly before raising his arm and firing two shots into the hole in the wall. From the other side of the store, he heard Mark do the same, the sound of the shots ringing loudly as he fired into the darkness of the doorway. Jeno took that chance to fire off one last shot into the hole before dashing toward the end of the aisle closest to the entrance and ducking around the corner until he had pressed up against the side of the shelving. 

Breathing deeply, he repositioned himself, peeked around the corner and that was when everything erupted. The four remaining men charged out of the doorway, clearly they requisitioned the dead one’s gun because there were still three gunmen and then everything was lost in a rain of bullets. Jeno managed to clip the one with the shotgun in the shoulder at the same time that Renjun rounded the corner and took the guy who didn’t have a gun. He saw one guy go down, a hole in his head, which made pride bubble somewhat fierce in his chest. 

He whirled around back into the aisle just in time to watch Renjun and Jaemin tag team the non-gunner. Knives sliced through skin, sliced through tissue, sliced through bone. and then the guy was on the floor, his own blade clattering loudly against the tiles as he drowned in a pool of his own blood. There was no time to stare though because suddenly, Jeno was staring down the barrel of a shotgun. Without thinking, Jeno aimed, fired, the guy fell to his knees, and then the gun went off. Jeno yelled, ducking down, and then the storefront shattered. Glass rained down on him from above, and he instinctively moved to cover his head with his hands. He hissed as the glass sliced through his arms but remained where he was until a shout made his head snap up, glass fragments tinkling as they fell to the ground around him.

“Jeno!” Mark’s voice, he realised just as Mark came around the corner from his aisle breathing heavily. “Oh, holy fuck, Jeno.” And then Mark was there, pulling him into his arms, ignoring Jeno’s warnings about the glass. Mark pulled away to brush the hair back from Jeno’s face, eyes roving all over his face as if to make sure he really was okay. 

“Fuck,” he breathed, dropping his head onto Jeno’s shoulder as his arms tightened around Jeno’s waist. “I heard you yell and the gunshot and I thought- I thought- holy shit, I thought they got you.” 

“Hey,” Jeno said softly, pulling back so that he can cup Mark’s face, fingers brushing gentle against his blood-splattered cheekbones. “It’s okay. I’m right here, see? I’m okay. Breathe, please.” Jeno watched as Mark took in lungfuls of air, one after another until his breathing slowed, and the pulse under Jeno’s palms calmed. 

“I’m breathing,” Mark exhaled. “I’m breathing, I’m sorry. I was just- I was so worried.”

Jeno chuckled, pulling Mark back into him so that he could wrap his arms around Mark’s shoulders. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. To the ends of the Earth, remember?”

“There’s no Earth without you, though,” Mark mumbled into his shoulder, barely audible.

Jeno huffed out a laugh, ignoring the strange sensation spreading through his chest. “Gross. Don’t ever say that again.”

Mark snorted, pulling away to look Jeno in the eye. “You love me, though.”

Jeno smiled. “Yeah, I do.”

☣︎☢︎☣︎

“Guys,” Renjun’s voice broke over them and they both turned to look over at where the others were huddled behind the counter. “You might wanna come look at this.”

Jeno and Mark exchanged a look before disentangling themselves and heading for the counter. Surprisingly, there was more than enough space for the seven of them to fit, even with Donghyuck wedged securely between Jaemin and Renjun. Renjun nodded towards the ground just underneath where the cash register sat. There, right in the middle of the ground was a manhole, and on the shelf above it a potted plant. Jeno dropped to his knees immediately, fingers brushing over the plant.

“Holy shit,” he breathed. “It’s real.”

☣︎☢︎☣︎ FIN ☣︎☢︎☣︎

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! If you made it to the end, I officially love you already. Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please leave kudos and comments (I'd like to know your thoughts!). But also definitely check out the other fics in this collection!! You MUST. Go now! There are many other great Jeno fics in it.
> 
> Find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/moonfleur_) or [curious cat](http://curiouscat.me/moonfleur_) ♥︎


End file.
